Fayette County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between
Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of
an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with
economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors,
including income
and family size
and structure.
For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice
their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000

1990

2000

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Total Population*

143,587

100.00%

146,826

100.00%

In Poverty

30,061

20.94%

26,434

18.00%

Not in Poverty

113,526

79.06%

120,392

82.00%

11 Years and Under

22,218

15.47%

21,212

14.45%

In Poverty

7,431

5.18%

5,851

3.98%

Not in Poverty

14,787

10.30%

15,361

10.46%

12 to 17 Years

12,406

8.64%

11,787

8.03%

In Poverty

3,062

2.13%

2,850

1.94%

Not in Poverty

9,344

6.51%

8,937

6.09%

18 to 64 Years

83,788

58.35%

87,629

59.68%

In Poverty

15,922

11.09%

14,201

9.67%

Not in Poverty

67,866

47.26%

73,428

50.01%

65 Years and Above

25,175

17.53%

26,198

17.84%

In Poverty

3,646

2.54%

3,532

2.41%

Not in Poverty

21,529

14.99%

22,666

15.44%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.